What is on the Raimondi Stela?

Cosmology. The main figure in the image on the Raimondi Stele is the Staff God, an anthropomorphic creature that exhibits human, feline, reptilian, and avian characteristics. The animals represented were highly mythologized and rumored in Andean cultures because of their geographic location.

Why was Chavín de Huántar important to the Chavin?

Chavin de Huantar is an archaeological site in northern Peru, about 40 kilometres east of the city of Huaraz, and about 270 kilometres north of Lima. It was the religious centre of the Chavin civilisation, which developed here between about 1500 BC and 300 BC. It has been designated as a World Heritage Site.

What did the Chavín create that was shaped like animals?

Photograph of the Tello obelisk, a giant sculpted shaft of granite. The obelisk features images of plants and animals—including caymans, birds, crops, and human figures—and may portray a Chavín creation myth.

Who is represented on the Raimondi stele found at Chavín?

The Raimondi Stele It represents a god with two staffs in its hands that, according to the Peruvian archaeologist and historian Federico Kauffmann Doig, is similar to the god represented in the Lanzón statue. The Raimondi Stele had great influence on the Chavín culture, both in space and time.

Is the Lanzón stone an Axis Mundi?

The Old Temple featured the Lanzón, which was housed in a central cruciform chamber in a labyrinth of underground passages. The Lanzón functions as axis mundi, or a pivot point linking the heavens, earth, and underworld.

What is the Chavín phenomenon?

The Chavín Phenomenon is characterized by certain types of iconography and ceramics and by megalithic temples that were connected through long-distance trade networks. The rich, complex, and striking iconography in the Chavín style is mythological or supernatural, pointing to the phenomenon having a religious element.